Xiao Jinyu heard updates regarding Zhang Haixiang’s prison break incident from Zhao Hen, but he didn’t receive much detailed information.
He knew that the authorities were screening all users who had been to Haidu, but as of now, they haven’t had the time to investigate him and Zhao Hen, who were “acquainted” with Zhang Haixiang.
Moreover, as early as four days ago, it was confirmed in Haidu that Zhang Haixiang was still alive—
under the name C1809, “Wind Blowing Fart.”
This name has not disappeared from the Grow Some Brains APP.
Xiao Jinyu was in no hurry either.
According to Zhao Hen, they might need to go to Haidu in about a week. He would make sure to pick up Xiao Jinyu, and they would head over together.
Apart from that, there was the matter of the ivy.
After the ivy was safely delivered to the Logic Research Institute, it had been quiet. Xiao Jinyu had thought he wouldn’t have any more interactions with this pollutant, but he never expected that for the past seven days, every day without fail, 004 would enthusiastically talk about his new “big bro.”
In the morning:
【Dad!】
【Big bro is really strong, and I want to learn from him.】
【(○｀3′○)】
At lunch:
【Big bro is quite strong.】
【Pretty strong ┑(￣Д￣)┍】
【Just a bit of a wimp.】
In the evening:
【Big bro is amazing!】
【No wonder it is my great big bro, Dad’s great son.】
【Love Dad, love big bro ( =·ω·= )m!】
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
Xiao Jinyu was surprised to find that 004’s attitude changed subtly and was hard to detect every day.
At first, he held awe and admiration for the ivy. Slowly, without him knowing what had happened in the underground warehouse of the research institute, 004 would show a hint of disdain. After a few more hours, this disdain would disappear completely, as if it had never existed, and he would turn back into “I love my big bro, big bro muah!”
If Xiao Jinyu were a member of the Extermination Team, he could openly inquire about the current situation of the ivy and 004. However, he was not. In Zhao Hen’s eyes, Xiao Jinyu had no connection with Pollutant 004. He could express concern about the ivy plant, but Xiao Jinyu didn’t want to show any special interest in the ivy to avoid revealing his true intentions.
Looking at the wildly scrolling enthusiastic barrage on his phone, the handsome young man lowered his eyes.
He didn’t need to ask, with a little thought, he could guess why 004 was behaving this way.
—It was probably because the ivy had subdued it.
However, he didn’t know what the ivy had done to make 004 pay attention to it and even personally “subdued” it.
The matters of 004 and the ivy were not something Xiao Jinyu could solve right now.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
As a Level 3 user, unless he was an official, even if he had a high ranking, he had no chance of meeting Pollutant 002 and Pollutant 004.
Coafg delfais byrfgnlcu atf rlaejalbc obg j kffx jcv wjxlcu regf atfgf kjr cb ecereji jmalnlas jgbecv tlw.
Wljb Alcse kjr delaf regf atja tf kjr pera jc bgvlcjgs Ofnfi 3 erfg cbk. Rb bcf tjv vlrmbnfgfv tlr mbccfmalbc klat 004, jcv atfgf kjr cb gfjrbc ab jgberf rerqlmlbc.
…
Ktf kbgiv kjr lc mtjbr, jcv fnfc tlut-ifnfi erfgr kfgf rageuuilcu.
Xiao Jinyu opened the Grow Some Brains APP.
“004, do you have any suitable missions recently?”
After a few seconds, 004 floated out a barrage.
【Oh, my dear dad, I was just bonding with my big bro.】
Xiao Jinyu: “…Mm, a B-level mission will do.”
【Dad, what kind of B-level mission are you looking for?】
After contemplating for a moment, Xiao Jinyu said, “It should have some connection to a contaminated area, but the connection doesn’t need to be too deep. Ideally, it should be a relatively safe contaminated area.”
【Contaminated area? Let me see.】
Five minutes later.
【Dad, how about this one? -V-】
[C-level mission
Investigate animal disturbance phenomena in the Kangding Gardens Residential Area of Zhongdu City.
Additional information: Wang Juanqin, residing in Unit 103, Building 3 of Kangding Gardens. Her husband passed away ten years ago, and she now lives alone. On October 18, 2046, at 3 a.m., her Golden Retriever exhibited unusual barking behavior for the first time, barking at the air for ten minutes before stopping. On the evening of November 5, it barked unusually again, and on the afternoon of November 12, it had a third episode of barking.
Zhao Weize, residing in Unit 201, Building 6 of Kangding Gardens. He keeps a Pekingese, which also exhibited the same barking behavior as the aforementioned Golden Retriever. However, there was no barking on October 18; it only occurred in the last two instances.
Li Sisi, residing in Unit 104, Building 8 of Kangding Gardens. She keeps a domestic cat…
…
Mission reward: 30,000 cash
Additional information: Kangding Gardens is located in the eastern part of the Bishan district, adjacent to Haidu.
The residential area is 2.2 km away from Contamination Zone 132 of Zhongdu City. In 2037, this contamination zone was confirmed to be at a safe level.]
After quickly scanning the task details, Xiao Jinyu’s gaze lingered on Contamination Zone 132. In the next moment, he looked at his phone screen and asked, “Why this task?”
Task reward: 30,000 cash.
This amount was not much for Xiao Jinyu at the moment. It could even be considered quite low.
The first time 004 proactively helped Xiao Jinyu select a task, it chose the mission involving the Meat King. That mission was very simple, requiring only answering questions with no danger involved. Moreover, the reward was substantial, with a cash prize of one million, not to mention the two additional contaminated items.
Back then, Xiao Jinyu was still a D-level user, and 004 helped him secretly accept a B-level task. Now that he had become a B-level user, 004 had found him a C-level task, one that required going to a different district to complete.
【Because…】
【(=・ω・=)】
【Dad, that’s my hometown.】
【…I kind of want to go home and take a look.】
Xiao Jinyu was suddenly stunned.
***
“Rumble–”
The old and rusty subway emitted rumbling sounds. After the crisp subway announcement, this underground behemoth picked up speed, creating a gust of wind as it disappeared into the tunnel at the end, leaving only a faint taillight in its wake.
Xiao Jinyu had his right hand in his pocket and held his phone in his left hand, looking down at the map on the screen.
“Kangding Gardens… It’s closer from exit 4.”
Following the bustling crowd, he soon reached exit 4. Taking the escalator, Xiao Jinyu opened the Grow Some Brains APP again to confirm the details of his task. A bone-chilling wind swept down from above, making people around him shiver.
In the crowd, this single Level 3 user was wearing a thin coat and a light-colored scarf wrapped around his neck.
Kangding Gardens was located in the far east of the Bishan district, adjacent to Haidu. Before the Type A radiation event, this area had a thriving economy, with tall buildings that were no less impressive than those in the central part of Zhongdu, and even had some competition. However, after the radiation event, with over half of the global population dead or injured, the country consolidated its population and resources, concentrating a large workforce in one place to develop its national strength.
The original residents of Bishan district were also integrated into the newly built central city, but within a decade, the economic functions of Bishan district had significantly weakened. Apart from the contamination zones, there were mostly densely populated residential areas left.
Bishan district was in the far east of Zhongdu, and Kangding Gardens was situated in the eastern part of Bishan district.
Therefore, just three kilometers east was Haidu.
To the west, 2.2 kilometers away, was Contamination Zone 132 of Zhongdu.
Standing at a spacious and desolate intersection, the young man looked towards the west. In the distance, a gloomy and abandoned factory district came into view. The dim winter sunlight filtered through thick clouds and shone on Contamination Zone 132 of Zhongdu City. Rows of low and densely packed industrial buildings stood quietly, exuding a desolation that had settled over the years, like dust scattering in the wind.
Xiao Jinyu lowered his gaze.
He looked at the more than twenty six-story buildings on the opposite side of the intersection—
This was Kangding Gardens.
…
He took a detour and arrived at the east gate of the neighborhood, where the local police officers were already waiting in the guardhouse.
Similar to Officer Xiao Wu, who had assisted in investigating the Chu Wenting case, the young police officer assigned to help Xiao Jinyu with his task was also a young recruit.
Seeing Xiao Jinyu, the young officer with a crew cut quickly approached with a serious expression and extended his hand. “Hello, Mr. Xiao. I’m Wang Xiaodong. You can call me Xiao-Wang.”
Xiao Jinyu was no stranger to executing tasks by now. He calmly nodded and shook hands with the young officer.
After users accept tasks, the Committee will provide assistance within a certain range to help users complete their missions.
Xiao Jinyu said, “I already have a general understanding of the situation, but you’re the officer in charge of this area. If you come across anything unusual, please don’t hesitate to inform me.”
Officer Xiao-Wang pondered seriously. “Alright, I’ll update you as I go.”
“Good.”
“Wang Grandma… that is, Wang Juanqin, as well as Mr. Zhao and Ms. Li, you should already know their situations. In our neighborhood, there are a total of 51 households that keep pets. Among them, 29 households reported that their pets exhibited abnormal howling for at least one day during those three days…”
The Committee provides comprehensive information for the tasks, but local police officers would pay attention to more details.
In Officer Wang’s account, Xiao Jinyu quickly organized the information and made a summary.
“So, there were three instances of abnormal behavior in total. The first time was on October 18th at 3 a.m., the second time on November 5th at 8pm, and the third time on November 12th at 3 p.m.”
Xiao-Wang said, “Exactly!”
Xiao Jinyu pondered for a moment. “Among the 29 households with cats and dogs, their pets exhibited continuous barking or howling during these three time periods. However, not every household’s pet barked or howled three times, but some households experienced it all three times…”
Pausing slightly, he asked, “During these three time periods, did any special events occur near Kangding Gardens? Anything out of the ordinary, even something minor, can be considered a special event.”
Without hesitation, Xiao-Wang replied, “No. I’ve checked with our colleagues at the station, and everything has been normal.”
“Has there been any new residents moving into the neighborhood within the past six months?”
“None.”
Xiao Jinyu was momentarily taken aback.
Xiao-Wang explained, “Our neighborhood is an old community built before the radiation crisis, with a history of over forty years. It’s very close to the high radiation zone next to the factory, but the country allowed Kangding Gardens to remain because many survivors lived here. People have been living here for over twenty years and didn’t want to move. So it was preserved. Most of the residents in the neighborhood are over 40 years old. After losing their spouses and children, they chose to raise pets for companionship.”
As he spoke, Xiao-Wang carefully observed the young man beside him.
When he heard that Central City had decided to send someone to investigate the anomalies in Kangding Gardens, Xiao-Wang finally felt relieved.
Kangding Gardens was too close to the high radiation zone!
He was very worried that the abnormal behavior of the cats and dogs was not a simple anomaly but might be influenced by radiation.
At first, it was only the cats and dogs, but what if it eventually affected humans?
Fortunately, someone was finally taking it seriously.
They stopped in front of a building.
“Mr. Xiao, this is it. This is Building 3, where Grandma Wang lives. Her Golden Retriever experienced the howling phenomenon three times.”
The author has something to say:
Piggy Shampoo: Thank you so much to all the lovely and caring readers for your concern. I am truly touched. However… If you could just call me by my correct name, I would be even more grateful. It’s Piggy Shampoo, not Pigsham Poopoo, not Shampoo Pig, and definitely not Piggy Hero (Pig Man)! It’s Piggy Shampoo.
Don’t worry, I’ll remember Little Shampoo Pig’s request~ These are parallel storylines, after all =V=
The translator has something to say:
BTW, the author has completed the main novel as of last month (dec 2023) at 249 chapters!!! She is still working on writing those extras though 😉
I am working on catching up to the raws now: once I do, I will be posting translations more often (maybe 2x a week? or possibly 3x?! who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯…) I am a bit behind on the raws so it will take a bit of time. Until then, hope every Thursday is satisfactory enough.
Lastly, remember to support the author, Mo Chen Huan, so she can continue to write and tell amazing stories—purchasing the whole main story costs only 4 USD (which is mad cheap for 200+ chapters).
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
Thank you for the chapter💕
Thanks for the update
I suspect our mc would find new clues about justice court(I may have remembered that wrong 😁)
I can’t buy the orignal work because I did not know other languages, I think the orignal work is in Chinese…
Thank you for the chapter! <3